And all of a sudden this Ben starts spouting off terms that Jacen hadn't been sure he'd know -- Jedi, the Force, clouding other people's mind. But one particular phrase makes him blink. "The Empire?" He sits up, looking bewildered. "Do you mean the Imperial Remnant?"
This was all getting incredibly confusing by the minute. The Empire had been overthrown a long time ago, a few years before he'd been born. Tatooine was many, many light-years away from Coruscant. And while the Yuuzhan Vong hunted the Jedi as ferociously as the Empire did, the new order didn't have to go into hiding with the same desperation Obi-Wan was displaying.
Then something occurs to him, and he stares at the older man. Tatooine. The Empire. Ben.
For a moment, Obi-Wan just stares at Jacen; not in confusion, although he's certainly confused, but more just trying to figure out what exactly is going on. Imperial Remnant? "No," Obi-Wan says slowly, "I mean the newly formed Galactic Empire."
On a hunch, he adds, "Formed by the self-titled Emperor Palpatine, formerly Supreme Chancellor."
Jacen's eyes widen; he obviously recognizes the name. But his jaw simultaneously tightens, and he shakes his head. "Palpatine was killed during the Battle of Endor." He purses his lips together for a moment, because his next thought sounds so weird even without saying it out loud.
He exhales slowly. "... Endor was five years before I was born."
His earlier hunch to mention Palpatine, to expand on what the current political climate is, has become a growing suspicion that is merely confirmed when Jacen explains that for him, Palpatine was killed five years prior to his birth.
Reclining on his chair, Obi-Wan crosses an arm over his stomach, supporting the opposite elbow while that hand reaches up to tug absently at his beard. For anyone familiar with him, it's his classic calculating pose, considering all the possibilities and outcomes of any given actions. How had this happened? That it had happened was clear - Jacen is proof that... well, somewhere, there is, or had been, a temporal anomaly. It had always merely been conjecture, as far as Obi-Wan is aware; a mind experiment, batted around by the philosophy and physics students and scholars.
And yet.
Well. Nothing for it now. It is always best, when one is unsure how a situation will ultimately play out, to move forward one step at a time, staying attuned with the Force and waiting for guidance. To that end, Obi-Wan drops both hands to hit his knees with finality, before pushing up out of the chair. "I'll go look for your lightsaber."
He pushes the still mostly-full glass of water toward Jacen. "Drink. Slowly, but finish it. You may not feel it yet, and your healing trance surely helped, but I guarantee you're still dehydrated. I have plenty more, don't worry about quantity."
Well. Doesn't that clear up things. But Jacen just nods, because there really isn't much he can do about it. This man, whoever he really was -- if he's who Jacen suspects him to be -- might just be as stumped about the whole... time travel thing.
"Thank you," he says again. It would be a comfort to have his lightsaber back, if anything. And if he's stuck in the middle of the Empire's glory days... having a lightsaber lying around would be a very bad idea.
Following Obi-Wan's instructions, he settles back into the chair with the glass of water, drinking from it as he thinks about the peculiar situation he's found himself in. He tries to recall what he's been told about Tatooine: that it was his grandfather's homeworld, that it was where his uncle was hidden away during the days of Palpatine's rule, that it would be where his uncle and father would eventually meet...
After a brief pause, Obi-Wan reaches out and pats Jacen's shoulder as he passes him. "We'll figure this out," he promises, before leaving the hut.
The first sun has set, and without an incapacitated companion, Ben makes good time back to the crash site. No signs of scavengers yet; the Sandpeople are a highly superstitious lot, and don't much like change, so the earthquake the crash created will probably keep them away for a day or longer, at least, and even more before their wariness is overcome by curiosity. And since the ship doesn't look like metal, the Jawas would have little interest in it for a while, at least.
Still, it never hurts to be prepared. Carefully, Ben begins shifting the sand with the Force in certain strategic places that are the most likely entrance points for scavengers, creating sinkholes that won't kill them (hopefully), but will certainly detain and deter them.
It takes effort, and time, and heavy concentration to shift the sand in such a way to create pockets of air without the whole thing collapsing, and by the time he's finished, Ben is sweating, despite being in relative shade.
Closing his eyes, he focuses on the sense he'd gotten from Jacen during his healing trance. There's nothing at first, but Obi-Wan is patient, the quiet noises of the crepuscular creatures becoming active, and the feel of small life signatures in the Force are soothing to him.
Eventually, he senses it; a tiny pinprick of an echo of Jacen's signature, shining brightly not too far from him. Keeping it firmly in the front of his mind's eye, Ben unhurriedly gets up and moves toward it. It's just inside a tear in the ship's hull, presumably how Jacen got out.
As soon as Obi-Wan picks up the lightsaber, he almost has to bite his lip at the swell of emotion that overtakes him. If Jacen is correct, if he is from the future, no matter how distant, then here is proof that the Jedi are not extinct. There is a small glimmer of hope with Luke, with Leia, but this is definitive, and it is something Obi-Wan hadn't realized he'd needed so desperately until he's confronted with it.
Returning to his humble dwelling, Ben holds out his lightsaber to Jacen almost reverently. "It's fine craftsmanship," he tells him sincerely.
Jacen dutifully complies with Ben’s instructions to drink all the water, then eases himself into a meditative trance. The older man had warned him about using the Force around others, but that didn’t include him, did it?
He surfaces when he senses the other coming back into the hut, and this time he’s strong enough to be able to stand to meet him. He’s tall for his age, nearly the Jedi Master’s height, although he’s unhealthily thin.
He carefully takes the lightsaber, his expression clearly pleased, then he returns Obi-Wan’s reverent gesture with a deep bow. “Thank you.”
Then he grins, unable to stop himself. “You must be Master Kenobi, aren’t you, sir?”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
This was all getting incredibly confusing by the minute. The Empire had been overthrown a long time ago, a few years before he'd been born. Tatooine was many, many light-years away from Coruscant. And while the Yuuzhan Vong hunted the Jedi as ferociously as the Empire did, the new order didn't have to go into hiding with the same desperation Obi-Wan was displaying.
Then something occurs to him, and he stares at the older man. Tatooine. The Empire. Ben.
Could it be?
no subject
On a hunch, he adds, "Formed by the self-titled Emperor Palpatine, formerly Supreme Chancellor."
no subject
He exhales slowly. "... Endor was five years before I was born."
no subject
Reclining on his chair, Obi-Wan crosses an arm over his stomach, supporting the opposite elbow while that hand reaches up to tug absently at his beard. For anyone familiar with him, it's his classic calculating pose, considering all the possibilities and outcomes of any given actions. How had this happened? That it had happened was clear - Jacen is proof that... well, somewhere, there is, or had been, a temporal anomaly. It had always merely been conjecture, as far as Obi-Wan is aware; a mind experiment, batted around by the philosophy and physics students and scholars.
And yet.
Well. Nothing for it now. It is always best, when one is unsure how a situation will ultimately play out, to move forward one step at a time, staying attuned with the Force and waiting for guidance. To that end, Obi-Wan drops both hands to hit his knees with finality, before pushing up out of the chair. "I'll go look for your lightsaber."
He pushes the still mostly-full glass of water toward Jacen. "Drink. Slowly, but finish it. You may not feel it yet, and your healing trance surely helped, but I guarantee you're still dehydrated. I have plenty more, don't worry about quantity."
no subject
"Thank you," he says again. It would be a comfort to have his lightsaber back, if anything. And if he's stuck in the middle of the Empire's glory days... having a lightsaber lying around would be a very bad idea.
Following Obi-Wan's instructions, he settles back into the chair with the glass of water, drinking from it as he thinks about the peculiar situation he's found himself in. He tries to recall what he's been told about Tatooine: that it was his grandfather's homeworld, that it was where his uncle was hidden away during the days of Palpatine's rule, that it would be where his uncle and father would eventually meet...
no subject
The first sun has set, and without an incapacitated companion, Ben makes good time back to the crash site. No signs of scavengers yet; the Sandpeople are a highly superstitious lot, and don't much like change, so the earthquake the crash created will probably keep them away for a day or longer, at least, and even more before their wariness is overcome by curiosity. And since the ship doesn't look like metal, the Jawas would have little interest in it for a while, at least.
Still, it never hurts to be prepared. Carefully, Ben begins shifting the sand with the Force in certain strategic places that are the most likely entrance points for scavengers, creating sinkholes that won't kill them (hopefully), but will certainly detain and deter them.
It takes effort, and time, and heavy concentration to shift the sand in such a way to create pockets of air without the whole thing collapsing, and by the time he's finished, Ben is sweating, despite being in relative shade.
Closing his eyes, he focuses on the sense he'd gotten from Jacen during his healing trance. There's nothing at first, but Obi-Wan is patient, the quiet noises of the crepuscular creatures becoming active, and the feel of small life signatures in the Force are soothing to him.
Eventually, he senses it; a tiny pinprick of an echo of Jacen's signature, shining brightly not too far from him. Keeping it firmly in the front of his mind's eye, Ben unhurriedly gets up and moves toward it. It's just inside a tear in the ship's hull, presumably how Jacen got out.
As soon as Obi-Wan picks up the lightsaber, he almost has to bite his lip at the swell of emotion that overtakes him. If Jacen is correct, if he is from the future, no matter how distant, then here is proof that the Jedi are not extinct. There is a small glimmer of hope with Luke, with Leia, but this is definitive, and it is something Obi-Wan hadn't realized he'd needed so desperately until he's confronted with it.
Returning to his humble dwelling, Ben holds out his lightsaber to Jacen almost reverently. "It's fine craftsmanship," he tells him sincerely.
no subject
He surfaces when he senses the other coming back into the hut, and this time he’s strong enough to be able to stand to meet him. He’s tall for his age, nearly the Jedi Master’s height, although he’s unhealthily thin.
He carefully takes the lightsaber, his expression clearly pleased, then he returns Obi-Wan’s reverent gesture with a deep bow. “Thank you.”
Then he grins, unable to stop himself. “You must be Master Kenobi, aren’t you, sir?”